(2020-02-19). Russia's tourism sector could lose $455 million if Chinese coronavirus crisis continues until summer – tour operators. rt.com 
Health concerns over the new COVID-19 coronavirus have led to strong measures in Russia. The Far Eastern border with China has been closed, and most Chinese visitors face restrictions. Now financial losses are being assessed. | Experts forecast that the country's tourism industry may lose almost 3 billion rubles ($47 million), in just the next two months. That's according to ATOR, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. China is typically the largest single source of tourists to Russia: providing 1.5 million visitors in 2019. | While the situation is bad, it could get much worse. If Chinese holidaymakers…
(2020-02-19). 2 Iranians die after testing positive for coronavirus. rt.com 
Two Iranians who were that country's first cases of coronavirus have died, health officials in Qom announced on Wednesday. | The deaths were also confirmed by health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur in a The highly contagious novel coronavirus emerged in China in December 2019, with the death toll there exceeding 2,000 for the first time on…
(2020-02-19). Soybean dust blamed for 14 mysterious deaths in Karachi, locals protest poor government response. rt.com 
An illness which affects the lungs and has killed 14 people and hospitalized over 200 in Karachi, may have been caused by soybean dust, a lab has said. It has sparked street protests and prompted some to leave the city. | The health crisis in the Pakistani city started on Sunday night as people living near the port of Karachi complained about breathing problems, tightness in the chest, and a burning sensation in the eyes. Other symptoms include dizziness and nausea. Some reported smelling an unfamiliar odor before feeling sick. | The mysterious illness, which was initially blamed on a gas leak, soon proved to…
(2020-02-19). Nevada Culinary Workers Union Member: I Would Trade My Union Healthcare for Medicare for All. democracynow.org 
The third presidential contest of the primary season takes place Saturday in Nevada. One of the state's most coveted endorsements is from the Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. Its membership is 54% Latinx. But last week they decided not to endorse any of the candidates. Nevada is a "right to work" state, and the Culinary Workers Union has attracted members by offering them healthcare. It has said it supports "choices" in healthcare. The mobilization of service employees could be critical to winning the Nevada caucuses.
(2020-02-19). To compete in global economy, Trump says workers' lives have to get worse. peoplesworld.org 
What if America competed with other nations to have the best universal healthcare system or the best public education system? If we competed to be the leader in creating a green economy to address climate change? If we competed to end poverty and inequality? Donald Trump wants America to compete in the global economy, but …
(2020-02-19). Iran confirms first 2 cases of new coronavirus — official. rt.com 
Tehran confirmed on Wednesday its first two cases of the new coronavirus shortly after reports that preliminary tests on two patients had come back positive. | "As we had promised to announce any confirmed cases, a few minutes ago the health minister confirmed the two cases of the new coronavirus in the city of Qom," Ali Rabiei, the government spokesman, tweeted. | The Health Ministry said earlier that the patients had been put in isolation. Rabiei did not give the nationality of the two people infected, but some reports suggested that they were Iranian nationals. | The death toll from the new coronavirus in m…
(2020-02-19). Yale Study Says Medicare for All Would Save U.S. $450 Billion, Prevent Nearly 70,000 Deaths a Year. democracynow.org 
As the Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare to take to the debate stage tonight, we turn to a central issue of the campaign: Medicare for All. In a new study, Yale scholars have found that Medicare for All will save Americans more than $450 billion and prevent 68,000 deaths every year. The study in The Lancet — one of the oldest and most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals — found that Medicare for All, supported by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, will save money and is more cost-effective than "Medicare for All Who Want It, "a model supported by Pete Buttigieg. Sanders referenced the…
(2020-02-19). Last ones to leave: 130+ Indian crew members to remain quarantined for TWO MORE WEEKS on coronavirus-hit cruise ship. rt.com 
After the last passenger leaves the coronavirus-struck vessel, more than 100 Indian crew members, tending the quarantined guests, will be stuck on the Diamond Princess for another two weeks. | The Indian crew will not only be the last to disembark from the disease-hit luxury liner Diamond Princess, but will be quarantined for additional two weeks after all the passengers leave, the Times of India reported on Wednesday. | Passengers, who have tested negative for the virus began stepping ashore in the Port of Yokohama, Japan, earlier that day, after spending 14 days confined to the vessel. Indian personnel has b…
(2020-02-19). While Nicaragua returns to peace, media and international NGO's conjure epidemic of violence with dubious reporting. thegrayzone.com Media bias against Nicaragua's Sandinista government is unremitting, and international NGOs are feeding it by misreporting a violent land dispute…
(2020-02-19). While Nicaragua returns to peace, media and international NGOs conjure epidemic of violence with dubious reporting. thegrayzone.com Media bias against Nicaragua's Sandinista government is unremitting, and international NGOs are feeding it by misreporting a violent land dispute…
(2020-02-19). 2020 International Women's Day Kick Off and Symposium (Sacramento). indybay.org Betty Irene Moore Hall – UC Davis Health, Room 1000 & 1st Floor Commons, 2570 48th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817…
(2020-02-19). China: Over 14 Thousand Patients Recover From Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net China's National Health Commission(NHC) reported that 14,376 patients have recovered from the coronavirus throughout the country. | RELATED: | In their latest report, Chinese health authorities informed that 74,279 people have been infected by the disease and 2007 persons have died so far. | Seen from a temporary perspective, however, the outbreak control is yielding the expected results. | For 15 consecutive days, the…
(2020-02-19). Culinary Workers Union Member Would Trade Union Health Care for Medicare for All. truthout.org The third presidential contest of the primary season takes place Saturday in Nevada. One of the state's most coveted endorsements is from the Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. Its membership is 54% Latinx. But last week they decided not to endorse any of the candidates. Nevada is a "right to work" state, and the Culinary Workers Union has attracted members by offering them health care. It has said…
(2020-02-19). Take My Benefits—Please. zcomm.org Employment-based Health Care Has Become an Anchor Around the Neck of the U.S. Working Class…
(2020-02-19). Apocalypse Now! Insects, Pesticide and a Public Health Crisis. globalresearch.ca In 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, produced a
(2020-02-19). America's Barbaric Health Care System in One Grisly Statistic. truthdig.com New polling data finds that as many as eight million people in the U.S. have used crowdfunding campaigns to pay for a medical procedures.
(2020-02-19). Headlines for February 19, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Falsely Claims He Is "Chief Law Enforcement Officer" of U.S., Trump Issues Clemency to White-Collar Criminals and Political Allies, Democratic Presidential Candidates to Take Debate Stage in Nevada, Resurfaced Video Shows Bloomberg Calling for Cuts to Medicare and Social Security, Death Toll from Coronavirus Surpasses 2,000 People, Afghanistan: Ashraf Ghani Declared Winner of Presidential Election, U.N.: 22 Killed, Including 14 Children, in Massacre in Cameroon, Somali Broadcast Journalist Abdiwali Ali Hassan Assassinated, North Carolina Court Temporarily Blocks Discriminatory Voter ID Laws…
(2020-02-19). Leaked document foretold secret corporate campaign to derail Medicare for All. peoplesworld.org …
(2020-02-19). Coronavirus: China says patient recovery picks up. yenisafak.com The number of recovered patients infected with the novel coronavirus picked up, health authorities in China said on Wednesday.More than 1,800 individuals infected by the virus were released from hospitals across China on Tuesday after full recovery, the state-run news agency Xinhua News reported, citing the National Health Commission.The number is higher than new confirmed 1,749 cases the same day for the first time since the outbreak of the disease in the central Wuhan city last December.The virus, officially known as COVID-19, has so far claimed 2,005 lives in China, according to the latest data.Four deaths –…
(2020-02-19). China central bank sees limited impact to economy from coronavirus. yenisafak.com China's central bank said on Wednesday the impact of the coronavirus on the economy will be limited as the epidemic has not changed the country's economic fundamentals.The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it would help anti-virus efforts by extending credit, including by providing favourable loans or interest rates to companies involved in controlling the epidemic.In its fourth-quarter monetary policy implementation report, the bank added that it would also would keep the yuan currency stable and maintain its prudent monetary policy to ensure financial stability.
(2020-02-19). Locusts swarm into South Sudan as plague spreads. yenisafak.com Swarms of locusts ravaging crops and grazing land across east Africa have reached South Sudan, already reeling from widespread hunger and years of civil war, the country's agriculture minister said on Tuesday.The locusts crossed into southern Magwi county, on the border with Uganda, Minister Anyoti Adigo Nyikwach said.Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti are battling the worst locust outbreak in decades, and swarms have also spread into Tanzania, Uganda and now South Sudan.Desert locusts can travel up to 150 km (95 miles) in a day and eat their own body weight in greenery, meaning a swarm just one kilometre squar…
(2020-02-19). Health check: U.S. manufacturing is in trouble. mronline.org 
President Trump is all in, touting his success in rebuilding U.S. manufacturing. For example, in his state of the union address he claimed: We are restoring our nation's manufacturing might, even though predictions were that this could never be done. After losing 60,000 factories under the previous two administrations, America has now gained 12,000 new […] |
(2020-02-18). Irish Elections and Unification. counterpunch.org 
The victory by Ireland's leftwing Sinn Fein Party in the Republic's recent election has not only overturned some 90 years of domination by the island's two center-right parties, it suddenly puts the issue of Irish reunification on the agenda. While the campaign was fought over bread and butter issues like housing, the collapsing health care system, and homelessness, a united Ireland has long been Sinn Fein's raison d'être. In the aftermath, Party leaders called for a border referendum on the subject.
(2020-02-18). Consumers League-SEIU probe reveals problems at Chipotle continue. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—After reading this, you might want to think twice about eating at Chipotle—and not just because it exploits its workers. But because it could be hazardous to your health. Starting in 2015, Chipotle, the supposedly upscale fast food chain which prides itself on using fresh, pesticide-free, and chemical-free food, suffered a huge corporate black eye—and …
(2020-02-18). ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped. aclu.org Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system — something advocates, communities, and years. Public oversight of ICE detention is about to become even harder, | further eroding accountability and endangering the health and safety of more than | 50,000 people in ICE custody every day. That's because the National Archives | and R…
(2020-02-18). End Torture and Medical Neglect of Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca On Nov 22, 2019, we, a group of more than 60 medical doctors, wrote to the UK Home Secretary to express our serious concerns about the physical and mental health of Julian Assange.1 In our letter,1 we documented a history …
(2020-02-18). Jailed Wikileaks Founder Assange's Health Improving: Spokesman. telesurenglish.net Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no longer being kept in solitary confinement and his health is improving, his spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters Tuesday. | RELATED: | Assange, 48, is in Belmarsh high-security prison in London, fighting an extradition request from the United States where he faces 18 counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend…
(2020-02-18). Nevada Is a Big Test for Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All Plan. truthout.org Medicare for All faces a big test in Nevada's Democratic caucus, where front-runner Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden are pitching competing health care plans in a last-minute effort to curry favor among voters as early voting comes to a close today. | Sanders has pledged to quickly push for a national health care system that covers everyone if elected president, while Biden wants to expand the Affordable Care Act with an option to buy government insurance that would compete with priv…
(2020-02-18). New study shows Medicare for All will save Americans billions and prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths. nationofchange.org This study helps quiet several attacks made on Medicare for All from the private healthcare industry.
(2020-02-18). 'Working night and day', UN health agency seeks to prevent global coronavirus crisis. news.un.org As COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, continues to spread, the head of the United Nations health agency said that there is still a chance to prevent a broader global crisis.
(2020-02-18). Polio eradication a UN priority, says Guterres in Pakistan visit. news.un.org In one of the last bastions of polio on the planet, millions of children are being given a fighting chance against the paralyzing and potentially fatal disease.
(2020-02-18). Locusts Swarm into South Sudan as Plague Spreads in East Africa. telesurenglish.net Swarms of locusts RELATED: | Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, and Djibouti are battling the worst locust outbreak in decades, a…
(2020-02-17). Coastal landfill sites set to spill over into sea, expert warns. thecanary.co 
More than 1,200 coastal landfill sites are in danger of spilling their contents into the sea — leading to a pollution time bomb around the UK coastline.Powerful storms and rising sea levels mean once-hidden waste could be exposed to pollute oceans and beaches, according to coastal policy expert Mark Stratton."One of the biggest risks of doing nothing at these sites is that the defences will fail and you'll potentially have former landfill either eroding out onto the foreshore or leaching into the water. Alongside that there's a potential impact on human health depending on what's in the sites," he said.Landf…
(2020-02-15). 'This is a time for facts, not fear,' says WHO chief as COVID-19 virus spreads. news.un.org The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday cautioned against panic over COVID-19 but also urged governments to step up their efforts to prepare for the virus, saying "it's impossible to predict which direction this epidemic will take."
(2020-02-14). Newly licensed vaccine, 'milestone in the fight' against Ebola in Africa, UN health agency. news.un.org Four countries in Africa have licensed an Ebola vaccine to "cement hard-fought progress" in keeping their people safe from the deadly disease, the UN health agency said on Friday.
(2020-02-14). Coronavirus: Media and Politicians Take Anti-China Fear Mongering to New Levels. mintpressnews.com Despite praise from the World Health Organization for its handling of the coronavirus, China has been derided by Western media and politicians alike over nearly every aspect of its response.
(2020-02-14). World Health Organization: Coronavirus must generate 'solidarity not stigma'. news.un.org Investing in preparedness is the smartest way to ensure that the coronavirus and other disease outbreaks are "identified and stopped quickly", the UN health agency said on Friday.
(2020-02-11). The Trump Administration Wants Health Insurance Companies to Drop Abortion Coverage from Your Insurance Plan. aclu.org From denying | access to abortion | for unaccompanied immigrant minors, to gutting | the Title X | family planning program, to trying to roll | back the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employers and universities cover | contr…